Berlin’s young startups and research teams stand to profit from the latest round of EU funding. The city’s senate is to receive €850 million in funds from the European Commission up to 2020. Half of this sum is to be spent on research innovation and building companies in Berlin, the senate has announced.

Berlin had previously received a considerably larger fund of €1.2 billion between 2007 and 2013. But even with €350 million less funding, the senate is aiming to “build the investment and startup scene together with the employment rate,” said Senator Conelia Yzer in a public statement.

“Intelligent, sustainable and inclusive growth”

€350 million of the EU funds are being set aside to reinstate Berlin’s weakening status in research and development. A further €70 million will be used to support small firms and increase the number of companies founded in Berlin.

In spite of the city’s blossoming startup scene, Berlin’s unemployment rate is still 1% higher than the East-German average of 10.6%.

The remaining funds are earmarked for urban and social development, as well as improving the city’s environmental standards. The European Commussion regulates that 20% of its funds be used to deal with poverty and social inequality.

A more detailed breakdown of how the senate plans to allocate the money and how Berlin’s firms can apply for funding is yet to be made public.